The student pilot reported that he was flying the Piper Cherokee from Oklahoma to California in pursuit of employment opportunities. During that trip, he attempted a night landing at an unattended airport in Cottonwood, Ariz., in order to refuel.
During the approach he was unable to activate the runway lights via radio. He made one approach to Runway 32, executed a missed approach, and then initiated an approach to Runway 14.
He conducted that approach based on two lights that he thought were the runway lights. When the airplane was very close to the ground, he realized that the lights were security lights on a building and initiated a go-around.
However, the plane hit an airport boundary fence northeast of the runway and came to rest on a street outside airport property. The wings and fuselage were substantially damaged by the impact with the fence. The pilot was not hurt.
The post-accident examination revealed that the No. 1 communications radio in the airplane was set to the proper frequency to activate the runway lights but that the radio selector switch was set to the No. 2 communications radio, which was set to a different frequency. When power was applied to the airplane and the radio selector switch was set to the No. 1 radio, the runway lights were successfully activated.
The NTSB determined the probable cause as the student pilot’s decision to attempt a night landing on an unlit runway, which resulted in a misaligned approach and subsequent collision with a fence. Contributing to the accident was the student pilot’s improper set-up of the airplane radios, which resulted in his inability to activate the airport runway lights, and his mistaken identification of building lights for runway lights.
NTSB Identification: WPR13CA219
This May 2013 accident report is provided by the National Transportation Safety Board. Published as an educational tool, it is intended to help pilots learn from the misfortunes of others.
I learned to fly in the florida keys. My cross countries were over water so were my T&Ls my night flights were over the everglades and water cant’t get much darker. Was trained under the hood at 4 hrs I have since made numerous night take offs and landings at night some to radio lit airports, I don’t think his trying to make this flight was any thing but stupid. However it is not illegal to be stupid but he did violate the FARS in numerous ways. 1: be familiar with the airport you where going to be landing 2: have the proper equipment for the proposed flight.
Assuming the CFI didnt make the same trip with him prior to the accident flight and give him ‘ Flight training at night on flying procedures that includes take offs, landings,..(etc..) AT THE AIRPORT WHERE THE FLIGHT WILL BE CONDUCTED’ as well as the next section (2), ‘Nav training at night at the aiport where the flight will be conducted’ then yes, I’d agree with Mike. This was an illegal flight, not to mention ‘questionable’ on many fronts.
Any bets on the aircraft insurers’ take on the situation?
Yeah.. something doesn’t add up… Student pilot flying the AZ mountains at night?, I mean even if its was an amazing, full moon night, it would still be as close to IFR conditions as you can get, and this is a student we are talking about here…
Maybe by “work opportunities” he meant drug courier?!
Gents, check FAR 61.87; this flight was illegal.
Tim,
I’m a low time pilot and just recently earned my license about 6 months ago, I too would have no problem making a flight from OK to CA and in fact would love to do so. I might even be willing to do portions of the flight at night if the conditions were near perfect. But according to the article this was a STUDENT pilot flying halfway across the country…….. at night…… while apparently solo! I can’t imagine any CFI would ever endorse such a flight, I know mine never would have, so my guess is the student just went rouge without any kind of endorsement, but the article doesn’t reflect that. Just seems very odd.
I agree with Chris. Something isn’t believable about this scenario? No CFI is going to sign off on such a trip and no agency is going to rent a plane for such a trip. The argument might be made that there could be an idiot CFI who would sign off but absolutely no business is going to rent an airplane to a student to fly halfway across the country. No student is his/her right mind is going to take such a trip; and at night to top it off!! I’ve got nearly 400 hours in a 2005 Cessna 182 and I wouldn’t attempt to fly from Oklahoma to California if a gun was held to my head. We’re not getting the right story here?
I don’t see as much wrong as everyone else.
It was November when I earned my PPL. In April the next spring with about 70 hours in the books I took off on a 800NM trip across the Rockies in a parasol airplane (open cockpit) that I owned doing 70 SMPH. If I had lived in OKC and wanted to go to SoCal less than 1000NM away I would not have blinked. Night flight, given enough moonlight, was not unheard of in this nonelectric, no gyro, nordo airplane.
At the student pilot stage a person does not know what they do not know. A Cherokee is cheap enough to be owned by anyone that wants one bad enough, so no rental problems.
The only thing that seems off in the article is the decision making process. Of course that is easy for me to identify given my past history of making stupid decisions. Twenty years of flying has seen a diminishing of those bad decisions, but unfortunately we are not at 100% yet.
edit; missed zero from OKC to SoCal
You have a license, and 400 hours!, yet are still reluctant to leave the pattern? What’s the problem? Why have a license, and access to a late model 182 (a true cross country machine) and not go anywhere? With proper planning, and reasonable skill, flying across the country is not difficult at all. I’ve crossed the country 5 times in my Cessna 150. It’s not a long trip, just a bunch of short ones stuck together.
Idon’t know of an instructor who would sign off on such a trip, They should say if he\she was aware of it. I have got to agree with Tom it should reflect back on the instuctor, if they were aware.
Oklahoma to California on a student certificate!? And to pursue employment opportunities!? Something doesn’t add up.
I have made some long x-country flights but Oklahoma to California?????? Come on now. The person who rented to this student pilot had better lookout for better renters or determine their true motives.
He’s a student pilot. If someone signed him off for the trip, that’s the person who should get the blame. Otherwise, it’s all on him.